The present invention relates a brake apparatus for applying braking force to a vehicle.
Brake apparatuses having an electric parking brake function actuated by an electric motor are known for use in automobiles or other vehicles. To operate such a brake apparatus, the driver of a vehicle uses a parking brake switch to apply and release braking force with the aid of an electric motor of an electric parking brake. There is also a type of brake apparatus that automatically, without the driver's operation of the parking brake switch, applies braking force when a certain condition for brake application is met, for example, when the shift lever (or so-called select lever) is put into P (parking) or N (neutral), and releases it when a certain condition for release is met, for example, when the accelerator pedal is stepped on.
Patent Document 1, listed below, discloses an electric parking brake apparatus that uses an electric motor at a lower duty ratio, e.g., 50 percent, for release at a time of release when the vehicle is on a road inclined downward to a predetermined degree or greater in the direction of movement than that when the vehicle is on a level (i.e., horizontal) road.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 2004-142515